Virtual Existentialism Meaning and Subjectivity in Virtual Worlds
This book explores what it means to exist in virtual worlds. Chiefly drawing on the philosophical traditions of existentialism, it articulates the idea that — by means of our technical equipment and coordinated practices — human beings
- PDF / 2,180,858 Bytes
- 149 Pages / 433.75 x 612.28 pts Page_size
- 92 Downloads / 195 Views
Virtual Existentialism
Stefano Gualeni • Daniel Vella
Virtual Existentialism Meaning and Subjectivity in Virtual Worlds
Stefano Gualeni Institute of Digital Games University of Malta Msida, Malta
Daniel Vella Institute of Digital Games University of Malta Msida, Malta
ISBN 978-3-030-38477-7 ISBN 978-3-030-38478-4 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38478-4 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Cover pattern © John Rawsterne/patternhead.com This Palgrave Pivot imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG. The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Foreword: The Computer Gameworld as an Existential Commitment
“I don’t like it here. I don’t know what’s going on. We’re both stumbling around together in this unformed world whose rules and objectives are largely unknown, seemingly undecipherable or even possibly nonexistent, always on the verge of being killed by forces we don’t understand!”—so laments the character Ted Pikul in David Cronenberg’s 1999 thriller eXistenZ, in a scene where the events in the hyperrealistic virtual reality game called eXistenZ have turned sour and Pikul is contemplating a way out. The movie eXistenZ is all about the blurring of the border between the game and reality. This blurring is greatly aided by conventions of cinema: thanks to the ambiguity afforded by the structure of the narrative, and the camera’s third-person perspective onto beings in the world, the viewer shares Pikul’s anxiety as they are both sometimes unable to tell with any degree of certainty whether events in a given scene are happening inside the actual world or within the gameworld of eXistenZ. The borders between gameworlds and the a
Data Loading...
